


How It Happened

by jedipati



Series: Darkness [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-03
Updated: 2010-01-03
Packaged: 2017-10-05 17:01:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jedipati/pseuds/jedipati
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alternate confrontation at Mustafar… with a twist.  Let's just say that I shouldn't ask the question "what if."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Certain

So many people have asked how it happened. Oh, many of you knew the stories. We were the best, the most famous. We were called the Negotiator and the Hero With No Fear. Anakin and Obi-Wan. Kenobi and Skywalker. We were the Team. We were the most famous of all the Jedi, and had almost become living legends. Neither of us was quite comfortable with the fame, or the titles we had been given, but in the end, we decided that it was better that we were heroes to the younglings then some holo-star.

But that isn't what you want to know. You want to know what happened down on Mustafar. Almost everyone in the galaxy knows our story before those events, and everyone knows what happened after. But I have never spoken about the events on the planet- and neither has my brother. I suppose I should note that while we are not related genetically, we are family. For thirteen years, we were partners, Master and Padawan, and then both Jedi Knights. Ever since we were introduced to each other by Master Qui-Gon Jinn, we have worked together, fought, shared in the losses and joys that life brings. We shared- share a bond that is deeper then mere blood relations. He hadn't made it easy- but then again, neither had I. I don't think either of us would be the same if we hadn't known each other.

I know that some people think that we are bonded so closely together, that we are almost one person in two bodies. That isn't true. While it is true that we share a bond greater then that of any pair of Jedi before us, we do not always think alike. Quite frankly, we often disagree on a number of things.

Again, I'm digressing.

That day- that week- is one of the most important times in recent galactic history. So many things happened in those few days; historians in the future will be hard pressed to present things in a coherent order.

One of the final things to occur before the Empire was truly formed was the destruction of the Jedi Order. I do not mourn them- for there is proof that they were trying to destroy the Republic. There are some that I miss- some of the younger Knights, who might have broken away from the Jedi if they had more time to make a decision and of course Master Qui-Gon, who I hold in the highest esteem.

Of the Jedi, there were only three confirmed survivors- my brother, who had already renounced the Jedi Order, myself because I did not know of the plot, and Master Yoda- who can properly be expected to survive a supernova if he has enough warning. I would say that I was lucky to survive, but I've always felt that there's no such thing as luck. So has my brother, for that matter.

Master Yoda and I snuck down to Coruscant- Imperial Center, I should say, though I fear I will never grow used to the new name- and into the Temple. There we found many dead Jedi, and quite a few clones. I know that if the Masters had not made a stand, the younglings would still be alive.

But at the time, I still believed the lies of the Jedi. Master Yoda believed that we needed to confront those who caused this- Emperor Palpatine, and my brother. I begged to be allowed to confront the Emperor (my brother and I were close to him, and I thought it would not be hard to make him see reason), but Master Yoda sent me to Mustafar. The hardest thing I ever did was listening to him. If I had known what he was planning for the Emperor, I wouldn't have gone.

I arrived at Mustafar worried, drained, and exhausted. I had not slept in days, and was nearing the end of my temper. My brother was waiting for me, as I knew he would be.

I felt him- but what a change. There was no mistaking his Force signature, but it was much different from the last time I had seen him. At the time, I couldn't understand.

At the time, I didn't want to understand.

And there, above the volcanoes and lava rivers of Mustafar, we confronted each other.

I was so sure that my way was the right way- the right path. He spoke first. "I knew you would come. I've been waiting for you."

"Why?" I asked. No- I was not asking why he was waiting for me, I knew the answer to that. I was asking why he had left the order, why he had turned his back on everything he- and I- had been taught.

He smiled gently. "Because it was the right thing to do. Don't you see? We can have peace now."

"You've betrayed us, the Jedi, and the Republic."

He shook his head. "No, I haven't. We were betrayed by the Jedi, my brother." Again, he smiled. "They are still betraying us."

I had my saber out, but not ignited, I lit it then. He followed suit. "Don't make me do this!" I begged him. "Stop going down this path!"

He sighed, as though I was merely a slow learner. "I'm not making you do this. Whoever survived on the council, and sent you here is forcing this on you."

I shook my head, but I couldn't deny that if it weren't for Master Yoda, I wouldn't be here.

"I know you don't want to do this- you don't want to fight me, to take the chance that you might kill me." This was true. People- younglings especially- the galaxy over have said that we would never fight, that we would never want to fight. We felt that same way.

And yet, here we were on the brink of a fight to the death.

Clearly, something had gone seriously wrong.

He looked at me- his gaze both the same and different. It was if he knew exactly what I was thinking. I'd often felt that way.

In a bold move, he deactivated his lightsaber. "I can show you why, if you truly want to know," he said.

My eyes widened. "Wh-What?" I stammered out. The idea scared me… but it also enticed me. I wanted to go with him.

He grinned. "You know that separate, we are formidable. Put us together, and there is no one who could stand against us. Everyone knows it. Together, we have the power to save those who would otherwise die."

"Who would otherwise die…" I whispered. He heard me, of course. He couldn't have known how close that came to my deepest fears. But then again maybe he did know.

I closed my eyes and shut off my lightsaber. Oh, I know the risk I was taking. He was supposedly my enemy- but I loved him like a brother, and I still trusted him.

I opened my eyes. He was smiling at me, and holding out his hand. "Join me," he said.

I stared at his hand, then at his face. To join him- to join the Empire- would be to renounce all the principles of the Jedi Order.

I had always been more loyal to people then to principles. "Yes. I'll join you." I reached out and took his hand. That is how I joined the Empire and renounced the Jedi Order. It was not because I believed in the need for order, though I do. It was because of my love for this man, my brother.

I, Anakin Skywalker, joined the Empire because Obi-Wan Kenobi asked me to join. And I have never regretted the fact that I said yes.


	2. Point of View

I suppose it is time for the story to be told. Almost everyone has asked what happened down there. I have never been able to tell the story before now. It is a hard tale. But it is one that needs to be told- for the future if nothing else.

Those last weeks of the Republic were so utterly chaotic, that putting events into some form of coherent order is beyond what I could ever do. I suspect that not even the Team could do it. Yes I know what the younglings say. We are The Team, and we can do anything.

And everyone knows that one of the most pivotal events in those last days was- almost as important as when I put down the Jedi Rebellion- took place on some world that, were it not for the fact that these events happened there, is utterly insignificant, between just the two of us. Some people are hardly surprised by that. After all, they say, we are Kenobi and Skywalker. Anakin and Obi-Wan. We were a rallying point for the Republic. Now, we are heroes to the Empire.

Everyone knows when and why I renounced the Jedi Order- when I walked in on Mace Windu's assassination attempt. We have never told why and how my brother did.

Yes, I call him my brother. Our relationship has been complex, but the one thing that has remained the same is that we are family. And to call ourselves brothers is the easiest of solutions.

On Mustafar, our family nearly unraveled. It was neither of our faults. Rather, blame the council, for trying to separate us. We had both been pushed to, and perhaps beyond, our breaking points. It could have ended up very differently. We were within inches of a fight to the death. Does that surprise you? It is amazing what can happen when things go wrong. I have never understood it. If Master Yoda and Master Windu had been less critical of us both, we might have joined them. But because they saw us as a threat- and rightly, as it turned out- we were pushed away from the Jedi.

The Emperor had sent me to Mustafar, on an important mission. I was to find and arrest the Separatist leaders. When I arrived, they were dead, but I was able to deactivate the droid armies. And then I waited. I knew that he would come looking for me.

I could only hope that he hadn't been too caught in the lies of the Jedi to see the truth. If he couldn't- if he hadn't been able to see past the lies he had been told- we would have fought. I'm glad that didn't happen. I don't know which of us would have won- but I'm sure the loser would have been better off. To deal with killing my brother… that might have killed me, in the end. Thankfully, that didn't happen.

There were other minor problems to deal with, even if he did join the Empire. I won't go into them, but they have been solved. Like the younglings say, there is nothing we can't do.

When he arrived- I was not surprised, as some had thought. I knew he would come. After all, we are brothers. He vaulted out of his fighter, and unhooked his lightsaber. He left it unlit, and for that I was grateful. I spoke first. "I knew you would come. I've been waiting for you."

"Why?" He burst out. I could feel the anguish in this question. He was not asking why I was waiting for him. He knew the reason. He was asking me why I had left the Jedi, why I had fought against the Masters.

I smiled gently. "Because it was the right thing to do. Don't you see? We can have peace now."

He shook his head, desperately. "You've betrayed us, the Jedi, and the Republic."

I shook my head in return. "No, I haven't. We were betrayed by the Jedi, my brother. They are still betraying us."

He lit his saber then, and I followed suit. "Don't make me do this!" He begged. "Stop going down this path!"

I sighed- there were times when he could be amazingly dense. "I'm not making you do this. Whoever survived on the council, and sent you here is forcing this on you."

He shook his head, but I could feel that he believed me. (I found out later that it was Master Yoda who survived and sent him to me. Somehow, that didn't surprise me at all.)

"I know you don't want to do this- you don't want to fight me, to take the chance that you might kill me," I said. He winced. I guessed that he'd rather be anywhere but here. How had we nearly come to blows? We were at an impasse.

Something drastic needed to be done, some insane move for which the two of us were known for. Yes, I know how some people think about us, they say that we're both crazy. I prefer to say that the Force gives us plans that no one else could possibly hope to use. I stared at him, searching.

I knew what I was risking when I deactivated my saber. The move stunned him, but then my words surprised him even more. "I can show you why, if you truly want to know," I said.

His eyes widened. "Wh-What?" He stammered. He was startled, stunned, afraid, and also tempted. He wanted to come back with me. I dared hope then, that we might both get out of this in one piece.

I grinned at my brother. "You know that separate, we are formidable. Put us together, and there is no one who could stand against us. Everyone knows it. Together, we have the power to save those who would otherwise die."

"Who would otherwise die…" He whispered. I knew that was one of his biggest fears, losing those he loved.

He closed his eyes and shut off his lightsaber. At that moment, I regretted that I did not know exactly what he was thinking, but I knew he had to choose between the principles of the Jedi Order, and myself. I could only hope that he was more loyal to me then to the Order.

I held out my hand as he opened his eyes. "Join me," I said softly.

He shuddered, almost unnoticeably. I wonder, sometimes, if he even noticed. He stared down at my hand, and then at my face. "Yes. I'll join you," he said- and took my hand.

That is how he joined the Empire. Anakin Skywalker joined the Empire because I, Obi-Wan Kenobi, asked him to join. And I have always been grateful he said yes.


	3. Epilogue

Anakin Skywalker, secretly Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, walked into his apartment. He was followed by Obi-Wan Kenobi, Dark Jedi Master.

They were met by the twelve year old twins, Luke and Leia Skywalker, who were involved in a heated argument.

Luke broke off the argument for a second. "Hi Dad. Hi Uncle Obi-Wan." He turned back to his sister. "It's because no one would understand."

"Some people would," Leia insisted. "But if it was put in they'd remember all the Jedi propaganda and they'd rebel."

Luke shook his head. "Anyone who would is already rebelling, or supporting the rebellion," he argued.

Anakin lifted an eyebrow. "Just what are you two arguing about?" He asked as he took a seat nearby.

"We're doing a unit on the formation of the Empire in school," Luke started.

"We've been talking about the Jedi rebellion," Leia said.

"And how both of you left the Jedi Order," Luke continued.

"We got to read what you and Uncle Obi-Wan wrote about when you were on Mustafar."

"And we were wondering why you didn't write anything about the Dark Side or the Sith. I thought it was because no one would understand."

"And I thought it might make people want to rebel," Leia finished.

Obi-Wan smiled. "You are both right," he said. "Most people just cannot understand the Force. Those that can, in some small way, are still blinded by the Jedi beliefs. They might want to rebel."

"Oh," the twins said in unison.

"What really happened?" Luke asked.

Anakin smiled. He and Obi-Wan looked at each other for just a moment. Finally, the Sith nodded. "I suppose that you are old enough to know, now." He said. "We basically reported what had happened, though, as you noticed, we did leave out almost everything about the Dark Side."

"So you really turned because Uncle Obi-Wan asked?" Leia asked.

Anakin nodded. "Yes. I always trusted him more then any other Jedi." He smiled at his friend.

"Much to my relief," Obi-Wan added. "I hadn't been sure that his loyalty to me would be greater then his loyalty to the Jedi."

"You didn't realize that my loyalty to the Jedi was because of my loyalty to you," Anakin told him. "Otherwise I would have left the Jedi when I married Padmé.

"Uncle Obi-Wan, can I ask you a question?"

"You already did, Luke, but I'll give you another."

Luke wrinkled his nose in thought. "You wrote that you accidentally walked in on Master Windu's attempted assassination of the Emperor. But you told us that you knew that he was there. Why?"

Obi-Wan nodded in thought. "I see." I said. "This is- once again- a result of the fact that no one would be able to understand," he said. "It is very hard to explain the work and effort that went into that moment."

"Oh." Luke looked disappointed for a moment.

Obi-Wan sighed. "I will attempt to explain." He frowned for a moment as he looked off into the distance. "First of all, you should know that Emperor Palpatine is a very brilliant man." He started. "When I had just been Knighted, and had taken Anakin as my Padawan, he befriended us both."

"At the time, everyone thought that he was grateful for our help in freeing his homeworld from the Trade Federation. In any event, no one saw harm in the relationship," Anakin explained.

"He became something of a mentor to both of us." Obi-Wan said. "He encouraged us both to question blind obedience to the Council and to listen to our feelings. Most of what he said was very much like what Master Qui-Gon had taught me, so I listened."

"For ten years he was a confidant to both of us, and he encouraged us and our own slowly growing friendship. Once I was Knighted, Obi-Wan and I became more like brothers, and while the Council warned us against attachments, Palpatine reminded us that it was a part of human nature."

"Eventually, a rift formed between us and the other Jedi, despite the fact that I was named to the Council itself," Obi-Wan said. "We didn't like it, but there seemed to be nothing we could do about it. We were both regarded with suspicion, and not a little fear."

"Is that why you didn't have any trouble leaving the Jedi?" Leia asked.

"Well, it wasn't that simple, but that was part of the reason I renounced the Jedi Order," Obi-Wan said. "I came to the point where we couldn't trust the other Jedi, and Chancellor Palpatine shared that belief. At the time, we didn't know that he was the Sith Master."

The twins nodded. "Eventually, the Jedi Council mistrusted the Chancellor so much that they planned to take him out of office the moment that General Grievous was dead." Obi-Wan sighed as he remembered. "Your father was on Utapau at the time, when I found out that Palpatine was Master Sidious. I was almost ready to turn- to break free of the chains the Jedi had placed on me."

"Why? Why did they hold you back?" Luke asked.

"They were afraid." Obi-Wan said. "For all that they claimed that the Jedi did not know fear, they were afraid." He snorted. "They knew that I was powerful, and if I tapped into all of the Force, only Anakin would be able to stop me."

"So what did you do- when you found out about Master Sidious?"

Obi-Wan sat back in his chair. "I told Master Windu," he said wryly.

Anakin grinned. "Obi-Wan wasn't quite free of the Jedi."

Obi-Wan glared at him for a second. "I eventually followed Master Windu and the Jedi he took with him." The Dark Jedi tilted his head slightly. "It was then that I agreed to turn."

"But not to become a Sith Lord." Anakin reminded him.

"Why not?"

"Well, Leia, my master was killed by a Sith Lord- right in front of my eyes. I didn't want to become what had killed him. I was, and remain, willing to ally myself with them."

"So, you helped the Emperor destroy the other Jedi." Anakin remembered. "And then, when I came after you, you convinced me to turn."

"And your father became the Sith Apprentice," Obi-Wan concluded.

"Why, Dad?" Luke asked.

Anakin smiled. "I had several reasons for agreeing. Some of which you wouldn't understand."

"Oh." The twins knew that meant that question time was over.

"Now," their father looked at them. "How much more homework do you two still have?"

"We have to write a report on the events on Mustafar, and we wanted to talk to you first," Luke said. "Don't worry; we won't talk about the Dark Side."

"Good." Anakin said. "Dinner is in an hour," he told them as they headed towards their rooms. He turned to Obi-Wan. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I didn't expect that."

Obi-Wan smiled. "It's not a problem. I was expecting it soon. They're both very smart."

"I know. They're so much like Padmé, it hurts sometimes." The Dark Jedi glanced at the Sith, who smiled at him slightly. "It's an old hurt, my friend."

"I know. And I know the twins help."

"Yes. If they had died with her…"

"It didn't happen. And they will be strong enough to survive, unlike the Jedi." Obi-Wan reminded Anakin. "So, what was it you wanted to show me, before we were interrupted?" Obi-Wan changed the subject.

Anakin grinned. "You know how I was working on that little droid? It's finally finished." He got up and led the way out of the room, once again content.

Obi-Wan smiled. He thought back to that day, and couldn't help but once again think that things could have been very different. He was just glad that everything happened the way it had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was first written in 2005, shortly after Revenge of the Sith came out. It was heavily inspired by the novelization of that movie, written by Matt Stover, and by the way that Obi-Wan and Anakin were played in the movie. The friendship between the two of them was so obvious…
> 
> I also wanted to explore an idea that very few others seemed interested in. Namely, what if Palpatine hadn't tried to separate Anakin and Obi-Wan, but instead tried to turn them both? To do that, he'd have had to befriend them both. And this story was born. To be honest, I didn't realize who I was writing, until halfway through the first chapter.


End file.
